Costello bill would help ensure stable, affordable health insurance coverage

U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-PA) has introduced legislation that would provide states with flexibility in how they aid Americans with health insurance costs.

Costello on Dec. 18 unveiled the Premium Relief Act of 2017, H.R. 4666, which would establish a Patient and State Stability Fund and fund Cost Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments.

Developed with constituent input from Pennsylvanians in his home state, Costello’s bill would help Americans gain healthcare access, get relief from unaffordable health insurance, and stabilize the individual health insurance market, the congressman said.

“My focus continues to be for Pennsylvanians to have affordable, quality healthcare,” said Costello. “By allowing states to tailor their healthcare systems to best serve the unique needs of their residents and by bringing swift stabilization to the health insurance market, this legislation will mean access to coverage and lower premiums for hardworking families.”

The State Stability Fund would enable states to offer financial assistance to those who need help getting non-employer coverage. While he supports such flexibility through other means, Costello said Pennsylvania stakeholders have stressed the importance of the fund being less bureaucratic and that it could be implemented before 2019 insurance rates are determined.

And the State Stability Fund would be guaranteed by the federal government, which would provide some certainty to insurers when they set rates for 2019, resulting in lower premiums. Rates for 2018 already have been set, according to Costello’s office.

Additionally, states would be required under H.R. 4666 to describe how they would use the State Stability Fund monies, which could be utilized to cover a wide variety of needs, including copayments, coinsurance, preventative care, maternity care, mental health care, and substance abuse treatment, among others.

Regarding CSRs — which Costello said he supports as a means of purchasing low-deductible, high-quality insurance — the proposed bill would fund them for the last quarter of 2017, and for plan years 2019 and 2020, according to the bill text.

The Trump administration in October announced it was discontinuing CSR payments after concluding that the U.S. Treasury Department’s refundable tax account cannot lawfully fund the payments.
H.R. 4666 is awaiting consideration by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.